For the warmer parts of the UK the sunshine of June means only one thing – tomatoes. Grown on the famously sunny Isle of Wight, the tomatoes featured in this recipe for a quick and spicy tomato chutney provide an impressive depth of flavour and sweetness. The only way to deal with a glut of the fruit, tomato chutney will be there to satiate your appetite for preserves year round.

Though delicious, pineapple has found itself part of some rather unsavoury culinary combinations over the years. First, came the somewhat strange pineapple and cheese cocktail stick affair. Hardly the high point of the party buffet. Then, as if to add insult to tropical injury, the Hawaiian pizza crept up when no one was looking. My recipe for pineapple chutney, however, belongs to the brighter side of this unfortunate fruit’s repertoire.

Let’s face it, Christmas isn’t a time for giving and it certainly isn’t a time for sharing, it’s the time of the year at which everyone attempts to work out what each of their friends and family would like to receive. Therein lies my problem – it’s exceedingly difficult to buy gifts for people of whom you don’t have an in-depth understanding. As you’ll all probably know, there’s nothing more disappointing than receiving an inadequate gift, particularly when you’ve put so much time and effort into the reciprocation. As such, it seems to me that the best approach is simply not to chance it – instead, make gifts that you know your loved ones will enjoy. Besides, gifting something unwanted is tantamount to waste and as we all know… waste is exceedingly un-frugal.

Autumn has certainly… descended and what will follow in its footsteps is a plethora of autumnal delights. As mentioned before, our apple tree has been full of life this year and has stayed true to its promise, even though other horticultural members of our usually bountiful garden haven’t. This is more than made up for, however, as the delightfully tasty, yet devilishly spicy chutney you see before you will demonstrate. This Apple and Cinnamon Chutney is utterly scrumptious and can be enjoyed in all manner of ways, though with cheese and crackers is certainly my favourite. Don’t let the amount of chilli in this recipe put you off; if that much heat isn’t to your taste, simply alter the recipe to suit – it’ll still retain all of its flavour. Enjoy!